Air traffic control center Northeast 3 has lost communication with Global Skies AirlinesFlight 117 on approach to JFK International Airport. Gus discovers a recording of a communication between the pilot of GSA117 and Tony Almeida, who has broken the CIP firewall and is communicating with the pilots, who believe that they are communicating with air traffic control. Sid Paulson contacts Larry Moss at the FBI to inform him of the situation. The Air Force has scrambled an F-16 to intercept the flight, but it is at least thirteen minutes away. Meanwhile, Tony, still communicating with the pilots of GSA117, orders the plane to change heading for a new runway assignment. Janis Gold and Sean Hillinger work to find a way to regain control of the plane.

Jack Bauer and Renee Walker are closing in on the sniper who took out Gabriel Schector, surrounding the adjacent building where the sniper was located. Renee calls Larry to inform him that Schector was killed, and he sends two SWAT units to their location. Jack tells Renee that he believes there is a security leak at the FBI, finding it difficult to believe that Tony's team could get a sniper in place quickly enough to take out Schector, and only the FBI knew that Jack and Renee would be at his apartment. Jack continues trying to make his case to Renee, saying, "you brought me here to find Almeida, and I'm telling you, you better be careful who you let in." Another agent steps in front of Jack and orders him to surrender his gun. Renee makes Jack wait in a nearby vehicle, as FBI agents corner the sniper. Larry has Janis coordinate with the FBI agents on the scene, and places a call to Sid Paulson at air traffic control.

09:06:12

As Sid and his crew try to figure out why Tony ordered GSA117 to change runways, suddenly their computers are locked up and they are unable to monitor traffic. Tony and his partner order another plane, Sunrise InternationalFlight 35, to change runways as well, and Tony places a call to Sid, wanting him to see what he can do.

09:08:47

Tony tells Sid to watch the surveillance camera at JFK tower, and when he does, they notice that SRI35 and GSA117 are on a collision course. The air traffic controllers watch their radar helplessly as the two planes fly closer towards each other. At the very last second, Tony orders GSA117 to pull up, and very narrowly avoided the collision of the two planes. Air traffic controllers breathe a sigh of relief, and their computers and comm systems are restored. Tony calls Sid once more and informs him that whatever they do next "will be the real thing." Sid asks him what they want, and Tony replies, "you'll find out soon enough."

The sniper realizes he is trapped in the building as the SWAT units arrive. David Emerson arrives at the boat where Tony and his men are working from and holding Michael Latham, who believes that Tony caused the two planes to collide. Tony tells his men to get Latham cleaned up.

09:18:13

Emerson greets Tony who says that the testing of the module went as planned. Tony hands the CIP device and Latham over to Emerson, and Emerson asks Tony how the FBI managed to find Schector. Tony tells him that they used an old colleague of his from CTU, Jack Bauer. Emerson says he knows who Bauer is, and Tony tells him that he'll "take care of Jack". Emerson doesn't want Tony distracted from his next job, but says he doesn't need to know the details of it yet.

At the White House, the Press SecretaryAngela Nelson prepares before making a televised statement, and Ethan Kanin instructs her not to tell the press when the invasion of Sangala is to begin, but permits her to acknowledge that the President is meeting with former prime minister Ule Matobo. The press secretary makes her statement that Benjamin Juma has refused to cease his genocide in Sangala, and that President Taylor wishes to have the U.S. military intervene in the situation. Angela takes a question from one reporter, Lydia; meanwhile, Ethan Kanin receives a call alerting him to the situation at JFK airport.

09:21:12

President Allison Taylor meets with former Prime Minister Ule Matobo

In the oval office, President Taylor meets with former prime minister Matobo, who pleads with the president to provide military assistance to his country to stop the coup by Juma. President Taylor demands that Juma be brought to justice in a court of law, not in a "cycle of violence." Taylor tells Matobo that is the only way democracy will work in Sangala; if no one is treated outside the law, not even Juma. Matobo gives Taylor his word, and before they begin discussing the details of the military operation, Taylor is called outside her office. Kanin informs the president of the near-collision at JFK, and that they have confirmed that Tony Almeida was the one who controlled the planes. President Taylor finds this breach of security "unacceptable." "It's just technology," she says, "we should be able to unplug these bastards!" Taylor orders the grounding of all non-essential air traffic and sets up a meeting with the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and the Department of Defense.

Alan Tanner calls Tony Almeida and tells him that he's trapped in the Columbia building near the west stairwell, as FBI SWAT teams enter the building.

09:23:57

Renee and several other agents watch the action at the Columbia building from a surveillance van, while Jack waits in a nearby car with Agent Kilner. Kilner tells Jack that he thinks he was treated badly at the senate hearing, but Jack defends himself, saying that the truth had to come out. "We've done so many secret things over the years. In the name of protecting this country, we've created two worlds," Jack says, "ours and the people we promised to protect. They deserve to know the truth, and they can decide how far they want to let us go." Kilner confides to Jack that he is not the only one who honors Jack's service to the country.

Agent Lennert enters the basement of the Columbia building from the west stairwell, where he meets Alan Tanner. Lennert informs Tanner that Tony sent him to get him out. Lennert gives Tanner an FBI coat and instructs him to go up to the lobby to make his exit. Lennert hands Tanner the keys to a car parked outside the building, and Tanner quickly makes his escape. Lennert then reports that the basement level is clear.

Jack and Kilner are talking about Agent Walker in the car, and Jack asks if he can step out to get some air. Kilner tells him to stay close. As Jack walks past the monitoring station, Renee approaches him and tells him that Tony just used the CIP device to cause a near-miss between two planes and is threatening to do it for real next time, as Tanner walks casually out of the building, disguised as one of the many FBI agents. Keeping his head down, he walks away from the other FBI agents towards his getaway car, and Jack notices him right away. He looks down at Tanner's shoes, which are brown, then looks at the other FBI agents' shoes, which are black. Jack is convinced that he is the shooter, and tells Renee, who checks the deployment grid and confirms that he's not one of theirs. Renee is about to order a team to follow Tanner when Jack intervenes. He tells Renee that there is a dirty agent in the FBI and that she shouldn't let anyone else in. Jack suggests that he and Renee follow Tanner alone. Renee asks an agent for his car, tosses Jack the keys, and they follow Tanner as he pulls away in his getaway car.

In an undisclosed location, Iké Dubaku is watching a news report about the near-miss at JFK airport, as David Emerson arrives with Michael Latham and the CIP device. Dubaku tells Emerson that Juma will be pleased with the demonstration. Dubaku takes possession of the CIP device and tells his men to make preparations to make his demands to President Taylor. Colonel Dubaku wants the United States government to pay a "very steep price" for killing his brother and attempting to kill him, and interfering in the affairs of Sangala.

Back in the oval office, President Taylor is meeting with advisors who are trying to find a way to regain control of the CIP firewall. Taylor is informed by Tim Woods and Dr. Cornell that with the CIP device, Tony and his men could take out other critical functions of the nation's infrastructure, such as the national power grid, and the water treatment and distribution systems. As the president reviews potential casualty projections, Ethan Kanin receives a phone call and steps outside the office.

Secret ServiceAgent Gedge is on the other line, in a car with First Gentleman Henry Taylor. Gedge informs Kanin that the First Gentleman is going to confront Samantha Roth about the death of his son, Roger Taylor, whom Henry believes was murdered. Gedge tells Kanin that Henry Taylor hired a private investigator to work on his case without the president's knowledge, and that Taylor instructed Gedge to keep his travels off of the official manifest. Kanin is angry that he was not informed of this, but Gedge tells him that he believes the situation has gotten out of control, and is worried about the First Gentleman's state of mind. Gedge tells Kanin that he should tell the president what is going on. Kanin re-enters the Oval Office as President Taylor says that she wants to raise the nation's alert level.

Back at the FBI office, Larry Moss is getting pressure from Homeland Security to find Alan Tanner. Janis Gold tells Larry that Agent Dornan's team doesn't believe the sniper is still in the building, and wants to know where Agent Walker is. Janis tells Larry that Renee left the scene ten minutes prior without logging her destination, and that Jack Bauer went with her.

09:39:02

Jack and Renee are pursuing Alan Tanner when Renee gets a call from Larry. Jack tells her not to answer it, but Renee worries that Larry would get suspicious and answers the phone. Renee tells Larry that they found a partial serial number on a gun at the scene and are going to follow up on it. Larry doesn't think she is telling him the truth, and Renee asks Larry if he trusts her. He says, "you know the answer to that." Larry decides to trust Renee, who regrets lying to her boss. Jack asks her if they are in the clear, and she replies "yeah, I think so." Larry orders Janis to triangulate the location of Renee's comm unit.

As Jack and Renee continue to follow Tanner, Renee asks Jack just how far he would have gone to get the information out of Schector. Jack says, "you've read my file." Renee says that his file doesn't say how he justifies the things that he has done. Jack tells Renee that he was brought in to help them find Tony Almeida and to do it their way, but since the FBI has been compromised, now they have to do it Jack's way. He asks Renee if that will be a problem, and she replies, "we'll see."

Henry and the agent go to Samantha's office at Sloane Kitridge. Henry says the authorities assume his son killed himself, and that they didn't look deeply enough at anything. Samantha, while on the line with a client named Paul, gets a call saying a secret service agent is waiting for her. She goes outside to see Henry, who is waiting with Gedge and some others on the roof.

09:49:52

Henry says he knows Samantha had $400,000 wired to an offshore account in the Cayman Islands three days after his son died. He says that someone payed her to keep quiet. She denies this, and says the money is for her aunt, that she was having financial difficulties since her uncle passed away, and suggested money be moved offshore to hide it from the IRS, but Henry doesn't believe her. He grabs her arm, and says she knows who murdered his son. She says he committed suicide. He says he will find out what she is hiding.

Tony gets a call from Tanner, and tells Tanner he's in the clear according to Emerson's man inside the bureau. Tony asks about the next job. Tanner replies that he'll give Tony the specs once he arrives. Tony instructs Masters to start the automated file-deletion program.

09:52:24

Jack threatens Tony

Tanner arrives at the docks, with Renee and Jack tailing him. Jack realises they can't follow him in the car any further without being seen. They park the car and get out. Renee hands Jack a gun. Tanner goes to open the gate, but hears a noise. He spots Renee and aims his gun at her, but Jack appears and holds his gun to Tanner's head, forcing him to drop the gun.

Jack punches him and asks if Tony is on the boat, but he claims he doesn't know. Jack knocks him out. Jack spots a surveillance camera and shoots it. Jack takes Tanner on board as a hostage, but Donnie Fox shoots at them both, hitting Tanner at least twice. Renee shoots down Fox; Masters also opens fire, but is cut down by Renee and Jack together. Inside the boat, Renee finds a laptop that is deleting files, but she can't stop it.

Jack encounters Tony and chases him outside. When he gets a clear shot, he orders him to stop. Tony does so for about 10 seconds, but then continues running. Jack catches up and they engage in hand-to-hand combat. Jack finally gets Tony's back to a wall. Renee arrives with her weapon drawn, but reports that the CIP device is gone. An FBI chopper appears overhead, with Moss looking down in a mixture of surprise and relief. Jack asks Tony, "What the hell happened to you?"

This is the last episode of 24 written by Joel Surnow, who departed the show in early 2008.

There was no split screen at the end of this episode.

Larry Moss says that there were three dead bodies at Schector's office, but there were in fact only two: those of Gabriel Schector and his guard Ari.

During the Previously on 24 section of this episode, a shot is inserted of a photograph of Roger Taylor with his parents that was not included in the previous episode. This is probably because Eric Lively was cast as Roger, originally an unseen character, only during the making of 24: Redemption, after the first eight episodes were filmed.

Runways 31L (left) and 4R (right) at John F. Kennedy International do not intersect in reality. It is the parallel runway 4L that intersects runway 31L.

In the "Previously on 24" recap, Jack tells Renee "the Department of Justice is about to file criminal charges against me." But during that scene in the previous episode, Jack used the departmental abbreviation "DOJ".

There are two deleted scenes from this episode featured in the DVD special features:

In the first, Jack speaks briefly with FBI Agent Kilner when he sees a picture of Kilner's daughter, Fiona. She is just over a year old; Jack advises him to enjoy his time with her and not to let his job interfere with fatherhood.

When Gus overhears the conversation between Tony Almeida and the pilot of the GSA117, he identifies Almeida. However, it's implied that the fact Tony is still alive is classified information, and it's very unlikely Larry Moss told Sid Paulson or any of his employees about Tony's identity, so they shouldn't know.

Error: Tony's partner is mistakenly labeled as being Tony in the subtitles at 0:03:31 on the DVD.